Online Breast Milk Carries Health Hazards, Report Warns

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Human breast milk is available on the Internet, and people are
buying not only raw milk but also products such as
breast-milk-flavored ice cream and lollipops, researchers say.
But adults who drink breast milk may be putting their health at
risk, especially if the milk is unpasteurized, improperly stored
or pumped from a woman with a transmittable disease, researchers
say in a new report.

Breast milk websites are plastered with health claims stating
that breast milk is a natural superfood that can help people
build muscles and immunity, according to the authors of the
article, led by Sarah Steele, a lecturer at the Global Health and
Policy Unit of Queen Mary University of London. Some sites claim
it is easily digestible and that it helps erectile dysfunction.

But "such purported benefits do not stand up clinically," the
researchers wrote in their article, published today (June 17) in
the Journal of
the Royal Society of Medicine. "Nutritionally, there is less
protein in breast milk than other milks like cow’s milk."

Breast milk is beneficial for infants, and scientists are
studying the health effects of its molecular components, but it
shouldn't be part of an adult's diet, the researchers said. There
are no scientific studies showing that adults who drink breast
milk fare any better than those drinking a placebo, they added.
[ 8
Odd Facts About Breasts ]

"Breast milk purchased online is not optimal for adult nutrition
or in the treatment of disease," the researchers said in their
article. In fact, milk bought online comes with more risks than
proven benefits, they said.

For instance, unpasteurized breast milk contains hundreds of
bacterial species. In a
2013 study, researchers bought breast milk online and found
bacteria in 93 percent of the samples. These bacteria may have
come from unsterilized equipment and improper storage or shipping
practices, those researchers said.

Unpasteurized
breast milk could also expose a person who drinks it to a
variety of diseases, including cytomegalovirus (a virus related
to herpes), hepatitis B and C, HIV and syphilis, the authors of
the new report said. People selling milk online may say that the
milk donors were tested for these illnesses during pregnancy, but
there's no proof these claims are true, and the sellers may not
realize that women need to be retested regularly for these
conditions to make sure their milk does not have these pathogens.

Moreover, breast milk may contain chemical and environmental
contaminants, such as alcohol, drugs, tobacco and caffeine, the
researchers said. The milk can also collect toxins if it's
improperly stored, for instance, in a container made with
Bisphenol A, a chemical linked to health problems that is now
banned in baby bottles in the European Union and Canada, the
researchers said.

Consumers may get
"watered down" breast milk, which may contain cow's milk,
water or another milklike substance such as soy. (Sellers often
do this to stretch the volume of breast milk, because breast milk
has a high market value, the researchers said.)

Adults are generally ineligible to buy breast milk from milk
banks set up for infants in need. Some breast milk marketed to
adults is sold at four times the amount it costs for infants, the
researchers found.

Drinking milk sold on the Internet is "ill advised," the
researchers concluded. With the help of health professionals and
regulators, the public could be educated about the perils of
drinking raw breast milk from an online source, they said.